Gimme the casssssshhhh
This whole single-income scheme is really starting to wear on our finances.
At first glance it's a little puzzling: our rent is lower than in Pawtucket, I don’t have to drive as far to get to work and Chuck isn’t commuting at all, food is generally less expensive… but we’re getting to the point now that I’m pulling out of savings to cover bill payments until I get my next paycheck!
On closer inspection, however, it all comes down to failing to adjust properly to the new circumstance. Before we moved, Chuck’s income was more than enough to cover “his half” of living expenses and bills, plus there was plenty of wiggle room within his income to fuel his addiction to energy drinks and graphic novels. But NOW, there’s no “half-and-half” arrangement - it all comes out of my paychecks, both necessities and frivolities. He always joked about how little he made compared to me, but really, that little bit pretty much covered all his basic needs. I never paid much attention under the old scheme, but now I’m realizing that I needed to be watching these things since the move.
What I think has happened is that in my failure to plan a new tight spending structure, I’ve been thinking in the old mode, and our spending on extra stuff has gotten out of control. Too much has been dropped on videogames, graphic novels, cosplay supplies, etc. when I need to be saving that money to put towards loan repayments. Nevermind the wad we just dropped at Otakon, both for the hotel and all the merchandise we bought. ::facepalm::
I can hardly wait til after vacation, when Chuck will seriously start looking for a part-timey job. He’s finally gotten his WI state massage therapist license, so that’s great, but since he hasn’t found any employment in that area yet I’m not holding out much hope for it to suddenly crop up this fall - I’m just hoping for him to get ANYTHING that will get him 30 hours a week at a halfway decent wage.
Man, I wish I had noticed this problem earlier…
At first glance it's a little puzzling: our rent is lower than in Pawtucket, I don’t have to drive as far to get to work and Chuck isn’t commuting at all, food is generally less expensive… but we’re getting to the point now that I’m pulling out of savings to cover bill payments until I get my next paycheck!
On closer inspection, however, it all comes down to failing to adjust properly to the new circumstance. Before we moved, Chuck’s income was more than enough to cover “his half” of living expenses and bills, plus there was plenty of wiggle room within his income to fuel his addiction to energy drinks and graphic novels. But NOW, there’s no “half-and-half” arrangement - it all comes out of my paychecks, both necessities and frivolities. He always joked about how little he made compared to me, but really, that little bit pretty much covered all his basic needs. I never paid much attention under the old scheme, but now I’m realizing that I needed to be watching these things since the move.
What I think has happened is that in my failure to plan a new tight spending structure, I’ve been thinking in the old mode, and our spending on extra stuff has gotten out of control. Too much has been dropped on videogames, graphic novels, cosplay supplies, etc. when I need to be saving that money to put towards loan repayments. Nevermind the wad we just dropped at Otakon, both for the hotel and all the merchandise we bought. ::facepalm::
I can hardly wait til after vacation, when Chuck will seriously start looking for a part-timey job. He’s finally gotten his WI state massage therapist license, so that’s great, but since he hasn’t found any employment in that area yet I’m not holding out much hope for it to suddenly crop up this fall - I’m just hoping for him to get ANYTHING that will get him 30 hours a week at a halfway decent wage.
Man, I wish I had noticed this problem earlier…